I want to get real, here. I struggle with motivation when it comes to writing. I haven’t always been this way. There were times when I could easily write five thousand words in a day. Now, it seems I fight for every word.

What changed? Did I somehow lose my love for creating story? Did I decide that I had conquered the dream of being a published author with a New York publisher and it was time to quit?

No.

So, why the fight?

Well, contrary to popular belief, becoming a published author isn’t all chocolates and roses. The writer’s cabin tucked deep in the woods away from the distractions of daily life doesn’t exist for most of us, which means we’re vulnerable to them. Aging parents, children, the day-job, cancer, and death… they do not understand boundaries. They don’t understand the need to torment our characters until they find their happily-ever-after. They do not understand self-imposed schedules and deadlines.

What I’m about to share, isn’t to gain sympathy, but to encourage you to press on, to keep getting out of bed and moving forward. To keep writing even through adversity.

Eight months ago, my husband graduated to heaven after being diagnosed three weeks earlier with cancer. Six months before that, my father-in-law passed away. They were the fifth and sixth deaths of close relations in under two years. I hurt for my children. They loved their grandpa, and their dad was the biggest part of their lives.

So, as you can imagine, there were things I needed to take care of, needs of others I needed to meet, not to mention trying to minister to a hurting congregation who’d lost one of their beloved pastors. I kept telling myself there was no time to write, but now that I look back, the hard truth of it was I feared writing. I feared the emotions I knew would pour out of my spirit. And I didn’t want to deal with them. So, armed with multiple excuses, I pushed my dream away.

But you see, God is so very good, and His word says in Psalm 37:4, that if I delight myself in Him, He’ll give me the desires of my heart. The desire to be an author was planted in me before I was formed and fashioned in my mother’s womb. And He wasn’t about to let me let that dream go and He gave me a battle plan.

  1. Pray
  2. Breathe
  3. Surround myself with those willing to hold my hand and encourage me during this season
  4. Set goals
  5. Plan to write an hour five days a week and give myself permission to write as few or as many words possible.
  6. Celebrate each victory, even the minor ones.

P.S. Some would say I need to grieve. I have, and I do. But after a wonderful twenty-seven-year relationship and four beautiful children, I’m blessed and I choose joy and peace over the ails of sorrow.

—

Christina Rich is a mother of four children, a grandmother of one, a romance author with Love Inspired Historical and Forget Me Not Romances, a speaker, a photographer, and a painter. She recently began Rich Ministries to carry on the legacy her husband began before he graduated to heaven. Rich Ministires focuses on reconciling people to God through Jesus Christ, helping equip the saints for spiritual warfare, and preparing them for the return of Jesus.

You can connect with her on Facebook at Author Christina Rich, Twitter @Christinainspy, Instagram at inspyscribe, or at threefoldstrand.com.